Chase Personal Loans: Compare Alternatives

Chase Bank customers who want a personal loan do not have that option because the bank does not offer them. However, they do have plenty of other options in lenders offering personal loans including SoFi, LendingClub, Citizens Bank, and more.

If you do your banking with Chase or simply like Chase Bank, you may be interested in Chase personal loans if you’re looking to borrow money for something like a home improvement project, debt consolidation, or unexpected expenses. Unfortunately, Chase does not offer personal loans. That means you’ll need to find a different lender.

The good news is, you don’t need Chase personal loans to get a personal loan at a competitive rate. You can get a loan from many other lenders and financial institutions including SoFi, LendingClub, and Citizens Bank.

Read on to find out more about alternatives to Chase personal loans and advice on how to choose the right lender for your situation.

Alternatives to Chase Personal Loans

Unlike car loans or home loans, both of which are secured by an asset, there can be secured or unsecured personal loans. When personal loans are unsecured, you don’t have to pledge any collateral, whereas with a secured loan, you must give the bank an ownership interest in something valuable that they can take if you don’t repay the loan so lending to you is less of a risk.

SoFi

SoFi personal loans are available to qualified borrowers at reasonable rates. Here are some of the key features of SoFi online loans:

Fixed interest rates between 15.49% APR with autopay and depending on your credit history, as of October 2018

No origination fees or other fees

Loan repayment terms between three and seven years

Loan amounts between $5,000 and $100,000

You can get pre-qualified for a SoFi loan within two minutes after providing some basic information online. Once you’ve got preliminary approval and an estimated rate, you’ll complete your application and provide any necessary documentation. Finally, you’ll sign your loan documents and receive your borrowed funds.

SoFi has a higher maximum loan amount than either LendingClub or Citizens Bank, so if you need to borrow a large sum, SoFi may be the right lender for you. SoFi is a leader among online lenders as well. SoFi does a good job of combining technology and convenience with strong financial products and competitive terms.

LendingClub

LendingClub works a little differently than SoFi or even many other providers of online personal loans because LendingClub doesn’t personally loan you funds. LendingClub is a peer-to-peer lending network. That means when you submit your application with LendingClub, it puts your loan up in its marketplace for individual investors to fund.

People, just like you, invest their money in LendingClub, funding different loans based on the terms and borrower’s qualifications. Some of the key features to know about LendingClub loans include the following:

Because LendingClub charges an origination fee, you may end up paying more with LendingClub than SoFi. However, you need to compare the big picture of total costs.

If you can get approved for a loan at a lower rate with LendingClub than SoFi, the loan may be a better deal, even with the upfront fee. LendingClub also allows you to borrow a smaller sum than SoFi, which could be beneficial if you only need a smaller loan. You can also sometimes still get funding from LendingClub even with bad credit.

Citizens Bank

Citizens Bank works more like SoFi, in that the lender gives you the loaned funds and doesn’t just connect you to peers who can fund your loan. However, loan terms are different. Key features to know about personal loans from Citizens Bank include the following:

Citizens Bank has a higher starting interest rate on personal loans than either LendingClub or SoFi, but it has a lower maximum rate than LendingClub. Like SoFi, it also doesn’t charge an origination fee.

What You Need to Know About Personal Loans

Before taking out a personal loan, it’s important you understand exactly how these loans work and what the approval process is like.

When you get a personal loan, you’ll submit an application to a lender to borrow money. Factors used to determine whether you’ll be approved include:

Your credit score

Your income and proof of employment history

The amount you want to borrow

Many personal loans are unsecured, so there’s no guarantee you’ll pay back the loan other than your promise to repay it. Some are secured, which means you must provide collateral. With a secured personal loan, for example, you might put $500 in a special savings account and use that as collateral for a $500 loan.

Lenders – particularly for unsecured loans – want to evaluate all of your financial information to make sure you can repay the loan. They will do a hard credit pull to ensure you will be able to repay the loan in most cases.

Many lenders have minimum credit score requirements. If you have excellent credit or even good credit and make enough money, you should easily be approved for a loan at a reasonable interest rate. If your credit score is low or you don’t have proof of income, you may be denied a loan unless someone will cosign for you. Otherwise, you will likely be charged a higher interest rate.

Different personal loan lenders charge different rates and have different terms for their loans, so comparison shop carefully. Be aware some offer fixed rate loans in which the loan rate and payments stay the same throughout the loan term. Others offer variable rate loans and your rate could go up. Some variable rate loans may have a lower starting rate, but when you’re comparing loan offers, consider the risk that your rate will rise.

Interest is an important factor but isn’t the only factor in deciding which loan is right for you. You also want to make sure the monthly payments are affordable. The shorter your loan repayment period, the higher your monthly payments will be, but the less interest you’ll pay over time. You’ll need to understand how the loan term affects both your monthly costs and total interest paid as you decide which lender is best.

Once you’ve applied for a loan and it’s been approved, you’ll receive the funds and you can use them for anything. Because these loans generally have a lower interest rate than credit card debt, many people use a personal loan to repay existing money they owe, but you can use the funds for any purpose.

As you repay your loan, the lender reports payments to credit bureaus, so your payment history affects your credit score. Be sure you’re responsible in repayment when you take out a personal loan, and you don’t borrow more than you can afford to pay back.

What Loans Does Chase Offer?

While Chase Bank, like many big banks, doesn’t offer personal loans, you can still get a car loan or a mortgage through Chase. Chase also offers line of credit options to some borrowers, such as their home equity line of credit. Visit the bank’s website to explore your options for these other financial products.

You Have Plenty of Alternatives to Chase Personal Loans

The good news is, you don’t need Chase personal loans if you hope to borrow funds to fulfill financial goals. You can choose one of many other great lenders that offer financing at competitive rates. You just need to compare your loan options to find the financing that’s right for you.

Author: Jeff Gitlen

Jeff Gitlen writes about a wide range of finance topics including everything from student loans to credit cards to small business financing. Jeff's work has been featured on a number of sites including Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes, Market Watch, and more.

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